किलेस

Kilesa

pali

Mental defilement, affliction, contamination. Kilesa (Pāli, equivalent to kleśa in Sanskrit) designates the mental qualities that obscure clarity and generate suffering.

The three root kilesas (mūla kilesa):

  • Lobha — Greed, attraction
  • Dosa — Aversion, hostility
  • Moha — Ignorance, delusion

From these three arise the ten principal kilesas: lobha, dosa, moha, māna (conceit), diṭṭhi (wrong views), vicikicchā (doubt), thīna (sloth), uddhacca (restlessness), ahirika (shamelessness), anottappa (fearlessness of consequences).

The relationship with the kleśas of Patañjali’s yoga is direct: avidyā, asmitā, rāga, dveṣa, abhiniveśa. Buddhism expands the list but maintains the same logic: there are root impurities that generate all others, and their elimination is the path to liberation.